A Ladybug's Halloween

Hubble-ish-is
bubble-ish-is
Happy Halloween wishes!
On this bewitching night,
who knows what surprises are in sight?
Oh I do hope that the spirits won't fright.
Let the magic and fun of Halloween begin...

They came from Miss Spider's
who had given them a brew
and some magical words too...
"here take this,
for it will protect you
on your way and will keep
the evil spirits away."

On this Halloween night,
Lydia the ladybug and Fred the frog
had tiptoed past the graveyard
when they saw quite a sight.
Why, the little frog was so frightened
he turned white.

There was an eerie glow
in a cloud of fog
suspended above the bog.
It seemed they could hear
some faint screams.
Fred had been told the bog
became haunted on Halloween.

The glow became
the face of a pirate,
Blackbeard, with skull and crossbone.
Fred said, "you are only a ghostly apparition."
The pirate, he laughed at the little frog,
and said...
"I like your intuition!

"I scared off all your kinfolk
who look like you,"
and then he laughed with an echo
that sent chills down Fred's back.
"A sight I truly savored...
it was fun to see them quaver.

"You look as if you lost your palor."
But then Fred mustered his valor...
"I am not afraid of thee,"
he said, tremulously.

And then despite his fear,
"For you are just a ghost you see."
Then the pirate said, "but what are you...?
Just a frog! "
Then Fred said, "ah...
but you underestimate me.

"I shall show you whose afraid.
You are a bully and a blagger.
This cane and cape have magic,"
and then a shape Fred drew.
Lydia then took her cue
and into the air she flew.

She said an incantation
as she sprinkled the magic dust,
and then from the mist
came a monstrous incarnation.

And what did appear?
Why, a fire breathing dragon
that even the fiercest pirate would have feared.
and he said, "with my breath I shall sear
your whiskers...
if you don't leave
and never come back... Blackbeard."

Then the last thing they heard,
was "shiver me timbers, I'm out of here!"
Yes the pirate once so fierce
had been defeated...
(and many times this story has been repeated)
as I say with a sigh...of relief
by a ladybug and a frog
who had the hearts of a lion.

-Marie Lawrence

Better gobble these cookies down quick. They've been known to disappear!

Gingerbread Ghosts

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/3 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt

In a large bowl, blend together the sugar and butter. Add the molasses. Fold in the sifted flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.

On a lightly floured board, roll out the dough until it is 1/8-inch thick. Cut out the cookie with a ghost-shaped cookie cutter and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove form the oven and let cool thoroughly on a wire rack before decorating with Frosting.

Frosting:
1 (16 ounce) box confectioners' sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
3 to 4 tablespoons of soymilk
1 (8 ounce) package miniature chocolate chips

To half of the sugar add the vanilla extract, salt and 2 tablespoons of the milk. Mix well. Add the remaining sugar and mix again. Add as much of the remaining milk as you need to reach the desired consistency for spreading. Spread the Frosting on each cookie until it is totally white and looks like a ghost. For eyes, use two chocolate chips on each of the cookies.

Makes 2 dozen.

These fun recipes are perfect for Halloween parties or for a nutritious family treat.

Ingredients

• Green apple (such as a Granny Smith)
• Tofutti
• Chocolate chips
• Green grapes
  

Instructions

1. Cut the apple into quarters and remove the core. Cut a thin wedge from one quarter for a mouth. For the eyes, shape tofutti into two half-inch balls, and set them in place. Insert a chocolate chip, point-side in, into each tofutti ball.

2. Use the grapes, cut in half, for the legs and feet. Slice four halves to create toes. Arrange the pieces as shown and serve on a paper lily pad.

Parents should cut and prepare the apple quarters and grape pieces used for frog's body, hands, and feet. Children will have fun shaping the eyes, setting them in place, and arranging the pieces to make the frog. Children will also have lots of enjoyment drawing the lily pads on which the frogs are served on. You can also get creative here by having them make white, pink, or yellow flowers out of tissue paper to use as an additional decoration on these lily pads especially if they are serving them for a Halloween party.

Ingredients

• Apples
• Slivered almonds

Instructions

Just core and quarter an apple, cut a wedge from the skin side of each quarter, then press slivered almonds in place for teeth. Parents should cut the apple slices and prepare them for children to decorate with almonds.

Tip:
If you're not going to serve them right away, baste the apples with orange juice to keep them from browning.

These tissue paper pumpkins are fun and easy to make, very festive, and make wonderful decorations for Fall and Halloween. They can also be used for placecards at Halloween parties.

For easy to follow step by step instructions go to Little Miss Craft web site.
http://littlemisscraft.com

Have fun unscrambling the words in the Halloween Jumble! Most of these words can be found on this page. Click the link below to download the printable PDF.

http://lydiatheladybug.com/halloween-jumble.pdf